Harvey looked at the detectives. “Emily, would you come reset the alarm, please? One of you make the rounds of every exit every fifteen minutes while we’re gone.”
“Right,” Trudeau said, getting to his feet.
“We can take my car,” Abby said. “You know, in case they’re watching.”
“I’d rather have my radio and equipment with me. Like I said last night, they have to know we’re in this. And he didn’t tell you to go to the bank alone.”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
They went out to his vehicle, and Harvey opened the passenger door for her. He walked around and got in the driver’s seat.
“How are the boys?” he asked.
“I talked to them about a half hour ago. They asked Vickie if they could stay home from school. I wasn’t going to let them, but then I thought, what are they going to do at school? They’re so sad, they’ll want to tell their friends what’s going on, and we don’t want that. And Andy would probably wind up crying. So I told them they could stay out. Vickie said she didn’t mind.”
“Probably for the best,” Harvey said.
“And Jennifer called me. She’s agonizing, too.”
“We all are.”
She nodded. “I told her I’d ask you if she can come over here later. I could really use somebody like her around, Harvey.”
He thought about it. Abby needed her sisters. If he was missing, he would want Leeanne and Abby to be with Jennifer. Her parents, too.
“Yeah, once we’re clear on their demands and the drop. We can’t do anything to complicate that.”
“That makes sense.”
Jimmy and Tony pulled out ahead of them in Tony’s red Mustang.
“Do you think the kidnappers will pull something when we leave the bank with the money?” Abby asked.
“Well, you never know. But Eddie and I will be on high alert.” Harvey eased out onto the street.
“Okay.” Abby frowned and adjusted her seatbelt. “I think I’ll ask for the whole amount from the line of credit.”
“Not the two-fifty Peter specified?”
She looked over at him. “Do you think that’s a good idea? I thought about it, and I’m not sure why he said two-fifty from the line of credit when they asked for three. The only other place I can think of to get the rest is from our savings and investment accounts. But if I take it from there—” She shook her head. “I don’t want the bank people to think I’m emptying Peter’s savings and leaving him or something.”
Harvey considered that. “I suppose it might look suspicious if you drain his personal accounts and ask for a quarter million from his line of credit. If you take it in one lump, they’re more likely to assume it’s for the business.”
“I still wonder why he said take a quarter million from the line of credit.” She frowned.
“I think it’s so the kidnappers wouldn’t know the fund was much larger.”
“I suppose so. But if the bank suspects it’s for a ransom, will they give it to me? I didn’t tell Mr. Strickland that when I called him last night.”
“I’m not sure.” Harvey wished he’d checked into that. Maybe he should have talked to the banker and been up-front with him.
“This way, if we don’t get the money back, Peter can start repaying them with his savings,” Abby said. She stared straight ahead, and Harvey decided not to mention again the possibility that they wouldn’t get back the money—or Peter.
At the bank, he spotted Eddie’s pickup parked a little up the street on the opposite side. He waited until Eddie was out of his truck and had crossed the street to get out and open Abby’s door.
“Everything good?” he asked Eddie.
“Yeah. Nothing unusual. No lurkers. Any cars matching Abby’s description from last night, the drivers did their business and moved on.”
A security guard opened the bank door for them, and the three walked in. Behind the counter, two tellers were setting up for the day and serving the early bird bankers at the drive-up window. Harvey had instructed Eddie to stand watch in the lobby while he and Abby went with the supervisor into one of the offices. A name plate on his desk read Darrell Strickland.
“Thank you for coming in early for me,” Abby told him.
“Oh, I’m always here by this time,” he assured her. “We don’t usually open the doors until nine, but for a transaction this large, it seemed wise. I see you have some support with you.”
“Yes,” Abby said. “My brother-in-law, Harvey Larson.”
“Have we met?” The man smiled uncertainly at Harvey.
“I don’t think so.”
“You look familiar. Well, anyway, that’s good. I wouldn’t like to think of you leaving the building unattended with so much money. Let’s sit down and get to the paperwork.” He pulled a file from his desk drawer and opened it. “We’ll need your signature in several places. Uh, I believe you said you wanted to withdraw cash.”
“That’s right,” Abby said. “Three hundred thousand. I’d like to use Hobart Chevrolet’s line of credit for the full amount if I may.”
Strickland glanced at Harvey and back at Abby. “Mr. Hobart usually does this, but I don’t believe he’s ever made such a large cash withdrawal before. He usually exercises his credit, and we send the money to the company he is doing business with.”
“He asked me to do this for him,” Abby said firmly. “I do have the proper credentials?”
“Oh, yes, you are perfectly qualified to make the transaction.”
Harvey sensed that the man had a feeling all wasn’t right. “Mr. Strickland?”
“Yes?” The man’s gaze snapped to meet his.
“If you are worried, I can assure that everything is all right. But perhaps it would allay some of your concern to know that I’m a police officer. I am also Mrs. Hobart’s brother-in-law, as she said. I offered her my services today to ensure her safety. The gentleman who came in with us is a police detective with the Portland P.D.”
Strickland’s face cleared. “That’s it. I’ve seen you on the news.”
“That’s very possible,” Harvey said.
“Oh, yes, Harvey’s always doing press releases,” Abby said brightly.
Strickland looked from her to Harvey. “Yes. Last night, for instance. That was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” Harvey said.
Strickland hesitated. “It’s just that. . .well, Mrs. Hobart, your call came in last evening, and then I saw the news report, and I couldn’t help wondering. . .”
“If there was a connection between the shooting at Hobart Chevrolet and this transaction?” Harvey asked.
“Well, yes,” he admitted. “And now, Mrs. Hobart, you arrive with two policemen to accompany you when you receive the money, and. . .Oh, dear.”
“It was not my husband who was killed,” Abby said.
“I’m glad of that.”
“We all are,” Harvey said. “Now, Mr. Strickland, time is important here.”
“Of-of course.”
Harvey nodded. “You needn’t have any worries about the money.”
“Oh, Mr. Hobart is always very good about meeting his financial obligations.” Strickland peered anxiously at Abby.
She managed to smile, but the strain showed in her face. “Everything is fine. In fact, Peter and I may be back in later today to redeposit this money. If not, we’ll repay it on the customary schedule. It all depends on a deal he’s working on, and he needs cash on hand, you see.”
“Oh.” Strickland slid some papers toward her. “Sign here, please.”
Abby looked over at Harvey. He nodded, and she took the pen.
Chapter 6
They arrived at Abby’s house at quarter past nine, later than Harvey had wanted. Abby thought he looked a little antsy. Two new techs had already arrived to take over the phone surveillance from Emily and Paul, but the detectives insisted on staying through the ten o’clock call.
“For continuity,” Emily said.
&n
bsp; “Okay, but I don’t want it too congested here.” Harvey paced from the door to each window, looked out, and walked to the stone fireplace, then to the kitchen door. “Any calls?”
“Just Mrs. Hobart’s sister,” Paul said.
“Which one?” Abby asked.
“Uh. . .” Paul consulted his notes. “Jennifer. She called on the landline about fifteen minutes ago.”
“That’s my wife,” Harvey said.
Abby looked to him. “Can I call her back? I don’t want to mess things up, but. . .”
Harvey held out his cell. “Use my phone. Keep it short.”
“Okay, thanks.” Abby escaped into Peter’s den. She sat down in a leather armchair, surrounded by some of his favorite things. Two bookcases were filled with nature and architecture books. A Spitfire model he’d been helping Gary construct sat in its box of little plastic pieces on top of an end table. She inhaled deeply. She couldn’t identify the mixture of scents, but the room smelled like Peter.
Her eyes brimming with tears, she fumbled with Harvey’s phone until she found his list of contacts. Harvey probably had Jenn on speed dial, but she hadn’t thought to ask him.
“Hi, babe,” Jennifer said.
“It’s me. Abby.”
“Oh. Well, hi to you too. Why are you on Harvey’s phone?”
“They want to keep mine open.”
“Of course. I’m sorry.”
Abby sniffed. “Jenn, I wish you were here. Or I was there. Something.”
“Are you okay?” Jennifer asked.
“No. I want this to be over.”
“Oh, honey.”
Harvey says I can have you come here later, after the money thing is taken care of.”
“Are they going to release Peter?” Jennifer asked.
“I hope so. They said they would.”
“Well, if anyone can make it happen, Harvey and his squad can.”
“I know. I’m just. . .This isn’t real, Jenn.”
“I agree. But you know, God is in control.”
“Yeah.”
“I keep thinking about Job,” Jennifer said gently. The pastor had recently preached a series of sermons on the book of Job. “Remember what he said when everything rotten happened and his friends told him it was his fault?”
“Other than ‘you all are scum’? Rough translation.”
Jennifer chuckled. “They were pretty horrible friends, all right. But I was thinking more of when he said, ‘I know my redeemer lives.’ That was his bottom line when everything was upside down.”
“I remember.” Abby took a deep breath. “Thanks. I can’t talk long. They should be calling soon.”
“Well, I wanted to tell you that Mom and Dad want to come down.”
“Isn’t Dad working?” Abby ran a hand through her hair. Three of her siblings and their families already lived nearby. Would having the rest of the large family descend make things too hectic? She only wanted to think about Peter right now.
“He can take tomorrow off,” Jennifer said. “They feel helpless up there in Skowhegan.”
Abby gave a small laugh that came out more of a sob. “I know how they feel, believe me.”
“Do you mind if they come down? They’d stay with us. They don’t want to be in the way, but they want to be close by.”
“I guess I’d like that. But make sure they understand—we don’t know what’s going to happen, or when Peter will be back, or what kind of shape he’ll be in.”
“Harvey said you talked to Peter last night.”
“Only for a second. He sounded okay, but—oh, Jennifer, what if they hurt him?” The tears came hot and fast, and she couldn’t hold them back. Where was Harvey with his ever-present clean handkerchiefs?
“Breathe, honey,” Jennifer said softly in her ear. “They don’t have anything against Peter. Just the promise of a payday.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Randy might come with the folks.”
“Is he moving down here for the summer?”
“Not yet. He’s got a couple more weeks of school, but after that we’re planning on it.”
Randy was their youngest brother, and Harvey had promised to help him find a job for the summer between his junior and senior years of high school.
“I’m glad he’ll be here,” Abby said.
“Well, Mom wanted to know if we still want him to come down and stay. I assured her that we do. Harvey’s been lining up some work for him. I don’t know exactly where things stand right now, but I didn’t want to bother Harvey about it.”
“It will be good to see him.” Randy was the youngest in the line of six siblings. Travis, who was number 5, had lived with Harvey and Jennifer for the last semester, but had gone home to the farm in Skowhegan two weeks earlier, when the university let out for the summer. He had a solid seasonal job in nearby Fairfield, but Randy was up in the air and wanted to earn some money this summer to put toward next year’s college tuition.
“I miss Travis already,” Jennifer said. “I almost wish Randy could stay now, but he’s got finals next week.”
Abby’s throat hurt, talking about normal family things when Peter was in such a terrible fix. “I guess I’d better go. You’ll be over later?”
“Yeah,” Jennifer said. “Call me when it’s okay for me to come.”
“I will.”
“I’ll bring a casserole for supper.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Abby said.
“I know. But you’ll either have Peter and the boys back, or you’ll have cops there, right?”
“Right.”
“So let me bring food. I made brownies, too. Cooking and chasing Connor around has kept me from thinking too much about Peter.”
“Okay, thanks. But you know you don’t have to feed the cops. I’ll see you later.”
Abby hung up and went to the bathroom to wash her face. Horrible, she thought, looking at her blotchy skin. Jennifer would never look this awful. She quickly touched up her makeup and went out to the living room. Harvey was pacing again. He was generally very calm, and the pacing made her nervous. She held out his phone.
“Here. Thanks a lot.”
“Yeah. How’s Jenny?”
“Good. I told her I’ll call her later. Mom and Dad are coming down, and Randy too, I guess. They’ll probably all be at your house tonight.”
“Okay.” Harvey frowned.
“What?” Abby asked.
“I need to call Mr. Donnell. He thought he could give Randy some work at his store, but I need to finalize it. And the owner at the diner was upbeat too, but didn’t promise.”
“Can it wait until tomorrow?”
Harvey looked at his watch. “It will have to. We’re only ten minutes out.” He turned and addressed Paul and Emily. “You guys ready?”
“Yep,” Paul said, and Emily gave him a thumbs-up.
“Where’s your squad?” Abby asked.
“I sent Eddie to get some sleep. I want him alert for the drop. Jimmy and Tony are in the kitchen, and Nate’s back at the office on the computer.”
She nodded. The landline rang, and her pulse hammered. She looked to Harvey, confused. The kidnappers had been using her cell phone.
“Go pick it up,” he said.
She strode into the kitchen, where Jimmy and Tony sat at the table with coffee, staring at the wall phone. Abby lunged for it before it could ring again.
“Hello?”
“Abby? It’s Pastor Rowland. People are calling me and asking about something they saw on the news last night. We wondered if you and Peter are okay.”
Abby threw Harvey a panicky glance. He’d followed her into the kitchen, and he couldn’t hear what the pastor was saying, but Paul and Emily, in the living room, could.
“Uh, we’re fine, Pastor. I can’t really talk about it right now. Could you. . .could you call Jennifer and ask her about it? I think she can fill you in. I’m sorry, I have to go.”
Harvey nodded, holding her gaze.
“Sure,” Pastor Rowland said. “I’m sorry if I called at a bad time.”
“It’s okay, and. . .thanks for caring. We’d appreciate prayer.” She hung up before he could ask what he was praying for. “Can Jennifer tell him?” she asked Harvey.
“Yeah. Pastor Rowland is discreet, and Jenny has good judgment on stuff like that. Are you okay?”
“Yes, but my heart’s going lickety-split.”
“Okay, let’s get you in the other room and sit you down for a minute. Get your breath before show time.” He looked at his men. “Come on, guys. I want you to hear everything. No matter which line they call on, we’ll have it on speaker in the next room.
Jimmy and Tony rose. Tony scooped up Jimmy’s mug and carried it with his to the sink.
“Thanks, Tony,” Abby said. They were good guys, all of them. She wished Eddie was still here. She’d formed a close friendship with him before Eddie and Leeanne were married, and it had stood the tests of time and wrangling. In some ways, he was closer to her then her own brothers. But he’d stayed all night, which helped her feel secure enough to actually catch snatches of sleep. And yeah, she wanted him in top form when they went to deliver the ransom. She was thankful for her brothers-in-law, but at the same time she was glad she hadn’t married a policeman.
She sat down in an armchair. “Harvey, what if they send me down near the waterfront?”
“It won’t matter. I’ve decided that you’re not going to actually make the drop.”
“What?” Her lungs squeezed. “We’ve got the money. They’ll kill Peter if we don’t give it to them.”
“Relax,” Harvey said. “We’ll give it to them—at least, we’ll do what they say. But I have a female officer standing by to make the drop. She’s about your build, and she’ll wear a blond wig.”
Abby just stared at him.
“It’s going to be okay, Abby. We don’t want to put you in danger, and the officer is well trained. She’ll be wearing body armor, and she’ll have a gun in case she needs it.”
Abby pulled in two deep breaths. “So, I just stay here?”
“Yes, with a couple of officers.” Harvey shrugged. “Some things might change, depending on what they tell you to do, but I really don’t want you exposing yourself to these thugs. Sorry to spring it on you like that. Let’s just see what they say when they call, okay?”
Ransom of the Heart Page 7